Just Between You and Me
by Unicornblossem13
Summary: Haru and Rin's relationship is a strange one, and they finally learn to put words to the things they feel for each other instead of just dancing around one another. P.S. takes placed after the first episode of Free! ES, going to the rest of the series after Haru moves to Tokyo. FemHaruxRin


**Based on the manga, but with Haru as a girl. Warning: characters will probably be OC. I hope you like it. Disclaimer: I own nothing. By the way, this is a birthday present for KarouUchiha, who is totally awesome! Happy 18th birthday!**

* * *

 _Just Between You and Me_

* * *

 _Spring_

"Run for it, Haru, Kokoro!" Rin yelled as he and the two cousins ran through the rain.

"You don't have to tell us twice!" the violet haired girl retorted.

"Ugh! What the hell?" the redheaded young man questioned when they reached the Nanase house, standing under the awning of the porch. "We're completely soak!"

"And it doesn't look like it'll be stopping anytime soon." Kokoro remarked, she and her cousin shaking their heads back and forth to get the water out of their hair.

"That cherry blossom pool went to waste, too." Rin said.

'Ah.' Haru thought when she saw a spot of pink on the male swimmer's red hair. 'A cherry blossom petal.' she reached out towards the slightly taller teen, planning on removing the petal. However, she stopped when he turned his head to look at her. She put her hand back down. "Rin, you can go ahead and take a bath first." she told him as she opened the door to the house.

"But you and Kokoro are soaked, too." the young man remarked. "I can go later."

"But we like water." the two cousins replied in unison.

"Oh, yeah..."

When they walked into the house, Rin gave a loud sneeze.

"Geez, if you get wet, it's still freezing, even in spring." he said.

"I guess it's good thing that we didn't swim in the pool, then." Kokoro remarked.

"I'll see if I can find you some spare clothes to use." Haru stated.

"Just not that loose shirt." the redheaded young man told her.

"That's all I have that will fit you."

"Liar!"

"Onii-chan, you're spending the night, right?" Kokoro asked.

"Oh, yeah." Rin replied.

"Hooray!" the little girl cheered.

"I'll make dinner." Haru said in monotone.

"Thanks."

Then the male swimmer noticed something.

"Oi, Haru." he called

Turning around to face him, Haru was surprised to see his hand reaching out towards her, her heart starting to beat faster.

"Ri-"

"You had a cherry blossom stuck to you!" Rin told her, grinning, as he retracted his hand, a cherry blossom petal in his hand.

"O-Oh..." was all the ravenette said, turning her head away to hide the blush on her face. "You can go get started on that bath now." she told him before she walked away.

"Okay."

"Onii-chan..."

"Yeah, Kokoro?" Rin questioned, looking down at the ten year old.

"You're dense." Kokoro remarked, her face blank.

"What the hell is that suppose to mean, you little brat?!"

* * *

 _Summer_

"It seems like Rin can't make it today." Haru said after she got off her phone.

"Aw!" Kokoro whined, petting the white cat that often hung around their house.

"Don't look at me like that." the ravenette told her.

"But I really wanted to spend time with Onii-chan." the violet haired girl replied, the cat meowing in agreement.

"You guys, too, huh?" the young woman questioned. "Sucks for you." she remarked as she and her cousin started working on hanging up the laundry outside.

"Onii-chan must have a lot of work to do at Samezuka." Kokoro commented.

"Well, it's understandable." Haru said. "He is the captain now."

Then she ravenette noticed something falling off the shirt she was about to hang up. Squatting down, she saw it was a cherry blossom petal and picked it up.

"It's looks better on Rin." she said to herself, petting the white cat. 'Ah.' she thought when the petal flew out of her fingers and into the air. 'Looks like a typhoon.'

* * *

 _Fall_

'That is one big cat.' Haru and Kokoro mentally commented at the same time as they watched Rin sleep on their back porch, the white cat curled up next to him.

'Every now and then, on weekends, he'll just come out of nowhere.' the ravenette thought as she set down the grocery bag she was carrying down.

"He looks so peaceful when he's asleep." the violet haired girl remarked as she and her cousin sat down next to the redheaded swimmer.

"Yeah..." Haru agreed softly. Then she placed her hand on Rin's head, rubbing it gently. 'His eyelashes are so long for a guy's.' she mentally commented. 'Rin...'

"Ngh..." the redheaded young man groaned, causing the young woman to quickly retract her hand. "Haru?" he questioned, waking up.

"Morning, sleepyhead." Kokoro said jokingly, smiling.

"Yo." Haru greeted causally.

"I'm hungryyy..." Rin told her.

"Meow." the white cat meowed in agreement.

"Me, too." the ten year old said.

"Geez..." the ravenette sighed. "Fine." grabbing the grocery back, she stood up. "You three wait there, I'll go and make something." she told them, sliding the door open and walking inside.

"Okay!" Rin replied.

"Kay!" Kokoro said.

"Meow." the cat meowed.

* * *

 _Later_

"Hey, Haru?" the redheaded swimmer called, playing with the cat along with Kokoro. "Do you want my help with anything?" he asked.

"I'm fine." Haru answered from the kitchen. "You can do whatever you want." she told him.

"Do you mind if I water the garden?"

"Knock yourself out."

"Okay. Kokoro, give me a hand." Rin said to the little girl.

"Alright." Kokoro replied.

Haru stopped what she was doing and turned her head to take a look outside. She saw the male swimmer and her cousin watering the garden together, the young man using a watering hose while the little girl used a watering can. Smiling to herself at the scene, the young woman returned to cooking. Unknown to her, Rin had turned his head to watch her from outside.

"Onii-chan needs to man up." Kokoro remarked.

"Mind your own business!" the redheaded young man yelled.

* * *

 _Later_

"Thanks for the food!" Rin and Kokoro said unison.

"You're food is always so good, Haru." the male swimmer complimented.

"Even thought there's only mackerel." the ravenette said at the same time as him.

"If you already know I'm going to say that, make something with meat! Meat!" Rin told her.

"You have no right to complain when you just show up at the last minute." Haru retorted.

"Urk..." the young man grunted, seeing that she had a point.

"You know, Nagisa said that you're like a cat." the young woman told him.

"'He wanders as he pleases', is what she said." Kokoro repeated what the blonde first year had said some time ago.

"Huh?" was all Rin said.

"But the cats come by here more often." Haru remarked. "You're too fickle."

"Fickle." the violet haired girl agreed, nodding her head.

"I don't get what either of you are saying at all." Rin said.

"I'm saying I wouldn't mind if you came by more often." the ravenette told him.

"Oh..." was all the redheaded young man could say. "Okay..."

* * *

 _Later_

The two teenagers were sitting in the living room, watching a DVD of the 'World Swimming Championship'. Kokoro had left earlier to go play at a friend's house.

"Hey, he isn't lowering his shoulder." Rin remarked.

"But it makes him less supple." Haru said. "I think your kick is stronger." she told him honestly.

The male swimmer blushed slightly from her compliment. Then the ravenette moved closer to him and placed her hand on his chest, causing the blush on the young man's face to deeper.

"S-So, have you finally realized h-how awesome I am?" Rin asked, stammering slightly.

"Yeah." Haru replied, pressing her hand closer to his chest. "Show me more." she said as she pulled back her hand and used it to lift up his tank top. "When I started to seriously think about swimming professionally, it made me see all over again how amazing you are. How hard you work..."

The redheaded young man just stared at her with an embarrassed face.

"I always thought..." the ravenette continued as she placed both her hands on his exposed skin, causing him to twitch. "You were so bright. It was something like from a far-away world. But, right here and now, you're so close to me. I can finally touch you. This body that exists..." she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his torso and placing her head on his stomach. "To swim..." she finished, squeezing his waist.

"Touching me without permission!" Rin finally said, hitting her gently, yet firmly on the top of her head with his fist. "You do know this it _my_ body, right?" he asked.

"Yeah." Haru replied. "Because it's your's, I want to touch it." she confessed, hoping he couldn't see the red hue spreading throughout her cheeks.

The male swimmer's eyes widened slightly. "Hey, are you saying..."

* * *

 _Winter_

The sound of a doorbell being rung multiple times could be heard at the Nanase residence. One could also hear the jogging footsteps coming to the door, which was opened a second later by a certain female swimmer.

"Hey, Rin, you're disturbing the neigh-" Haru was cut off when a snowball hit her right in the face.

"Onee-chan, who's at the do-" Kokoro was also cut off when a snowball also nailed her in the face.

"Haruuuu! Kokoroooo!" Rin yelled, dragging out the last vowel of both of their names. "Let's have a snowball fight!" he grinned, already making another snowball.

The two cousins stared at the redhead with blank looks, water from the balls of snow dripping from their faces. They looked at one another and nodded at the same time. Reaching up, Haru grabbed a low hanging branch. Then she released it, causing the snow that was on it to fall on Rin.

"Ack!" he cried out.

"We win." the cousins said in unison, small smirks of victory on their faces.

"That's not fair!" Rin shouted.

"Like you have room to talk." Kokoro retorted, sticking out her tongue out at him.

The young man sweatdropped, seeing her point.

"Rin, we've heated up the bath for you." Haru informed him. "Go warm yourself up."

"You two are soaked also!"

"We like water, though." the cousins replied in unison.

"I feel like we've had this conversation before." Rin stated.

"Ahchoo!" Haru sneezed loudly.

"Bless you." Kokoro said.

Then the young woman felt a tug on her jacket sleeve. Looking down, she saw the redheaded swimmer squatting down, holding her jacket sleeve with his fingers.

"H-Hey..." Rin stammered, his face red as he hair. "Wanna take a bath... together?" he asked. "Kokoro can join, too, of course." he quickly added.

The ravenette's eyes widened slightly.

* * *

 _Later_

"It's kinda cramped." Kokoro complained, sitting in between the two older swimmers in the warmed up bathtub, all of them having their swimsuits on.

"Well, this tub wasn't made to fit two teenagers and a ten year old." Haru remarked.

"Oi, Haru." Rin said. "Can you move your leg?" he asked.

"Hold on, I have an idea." the young woman said.

Then she started to stand up in the bathtub. The young man froze when he saw her exposed, ample cleavage when her upper body was bent forward.

"Sit back down! Sit back down!" Rin yelled, his face going as red as his hair.

"Huh?" Haru blinked, confused. "Why?" she asked.

Suddenly, her foot slipped and she fell forward, landing on the male swimmer.

* * *

 _Later, after all of that_

'I saw and felt something amazing.' Rin thought, his face still red, as he slid open the door to the ravenette's living room."It's so hot!" he exclaimed when he felt the heat inside the room. "What's with this room?! It's boiling in here! When did your living room turn into a sauna?!"

"You..." Haru started to say. "Were walking all the way here in the snow. So I warmed it up for you..." she told him.

The redheaded young man stared at her. Then his face seem to turn even redder than before, if that was possible. He strode over to the kotatsu (a low, wooden table with a heavy blanket over it and a heat source underneath).

"It's sweltering..." he said, pulling the blanket towards him.

"Rin?" Haru questioned as she came over and knelt down beside him.

"But, it's warm..." the young man continued. 'Haru's warmth...' he thought.

The two sat in silence, both not knowing what to say next.

"What the hell's going on?" Rin asked himself, breaking the silence. "I feel like such an idiot. You did this for me. You're always going out of your way for me..." leaning forward, he placed his head on the kotatsu, small tears pricking the corners of his eyes. "I love you, Haru." he confessed, placing his hand over the ravenette's.

"Yeah..." was Haru's reply.

"Yeah?" the young man repeated. "What kinda reply is that?"

"I was just thinking about how you really look like a cat, curling up by the kotatsu." the young woman told him.

"Huh?!"

"Rin..." Haru started to say, pulling her hand from under his and placing it on top of his. "Say it again." she said.

"Haru?" Rin questioned.

"I couldn't hear you very well..." the ravenette admitted, pulling his hand closer to her bright red face. "My heart was beating too loudly... So I..."

"Haru..."

"Rin, please say again."

The young woman was surprised when she felt two hands grab both sides of her face.

"Haru, I love you!" Rin told her, grinning with a slightly red face.

Haru stared at him, her lips slightly parted. "Rin!" she cried as she leapt at him, wrapping her arms around his torso as he wrapped his own around her head and shoulders.

Unknown to the both of them, the entire scene had been witnessed by a certain ten year old girl, who was smiling happily.

* * *

 _And then, spring again, as a pair._

"Is this all you're taking?" Rin asked his girlfriend, who he was helping pack for her trip to Tokyo University.

"Yeah." Haru replied. "I'm going to buy new furniture when I'm over there."

The redheaded young man sat down on the floor, his chin resting in his hands, as he gazed around the ravenette's nearly empty room.

"You're such a simple woman, you know that?" he told her.

"Like you can talk." Haru retorted. "You're as free-willed as they come. You go where you want to, just like a cat."

"You know, you keep calling me a cat, but you are aware, that cats always settle down, right?" Rin questioned her.

The ravenette's stared at him in surprise.

"It's just..." the young man stared to say. "I just..."

Setting the box she was carrying down, Haru sat down next to her boyfriend, placing her hand over his. The two swimmers stared at one another. Then they leaned closer to each other, their lips coming together for a chaste kiss. When they pulled away, Haru placed her head on top of his. Then she pulled out a small box from her pocket and held it between them. She opened the box and Rin's eyes widened at what he saw.

"Exactly!" he cried happily as wrapped his arms around the young woman's neck. "I'm gonna came back to wherever you are!" he vowed.

Haru smiled slightly. "Yeah." she said as she took the key from the box and placed it in his hand.

* * *

 _Months later_

"Welcome home." the ravenette greeted after she opened the door to her apartment and saw the redheaded swimmer standing outside.

 **The End.**

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought about it in your reviews. P.S I am in current need for a new beta. If your interested, please PM me. Also, I will take request for any of the stories listed on my profile, mostly for Cuticle Detective Inaba, Inuyasha, Fairy Tail and Free!**


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